<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>these hands are made for you by disgruntled_lesbian</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063936">these hands are made for you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgruntled_lesbian/pseuds/disgruntled_lesbian'>disgruntled_lesbian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>please give zuko a hug [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode: s03e14-15 The Boiling Rock, Gen, Hypothermia, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, sokka is a child soldier who blames himself for a lot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:40:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063936</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgruntled_lesbian/pseuds/disgruntled_lesbian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>[zuko gets hypothermia post-cooler, and sokka has some time to think]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>please give zuko a hug [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784050</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1588</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>these hands are made for you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>zuko’s fingers scramble at the bolts and screws of the cooler, the wrench sokka slipped him is abandoned on the floor by his bare feet. there are blisters forming on his fingers, and he can still taste blood from where one of the guards busted his lip shoving him into the cooler. he takes a shallow inhale and exhales a small breath of flame. his hands are stiff and numb, and he stopped shivering a while ago, but he takes careful, controlled breaths as he works. he’s not sure how long he’s been in the cooler, but he knows he has to hurry. one of the screws slips through his fingers and falls to the floor with a loud clank. zuko bows his head, waiting for someone to throw open the door. <em> inhale, exhale, stupid stupid stupid inhale. </em>the door never swings open, and he can’t help but crumple in relief. by the time sokka opens the door, zuko has gathered all of the bolts holding the cooler together in his shirt, trying to keep the cold metal away from his skin. </p><p> </p><p>“hey --” sokka says, in what zuko has learned is his <em> big tough guard voice. </em>“i can take you back to your cell if you’ve learned your lesson.” </p><p> </p><p>“yes--” zuko says, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounds and the effort it takes for him to speak. he takes a deep inhale and exhales a small flame to illuminate the metal cradled in his shirt. “yes i have, completely.” sokka’s smile warms him, even as he struggles to unfold his legs and stumble out of the cooler. he leans against sokka for a moment, before trying to stand on his own. </p><p> </p><p>“i got suki and chit sang out of their cells a few minutes ago. they’ll be waiting for us at the shore.” sokka whispers, throwing zuko’s arm over his shoulder to support him. </p><p> </p><p>“wait --” zuko says, pulling at sokka’s arm. “someone’s coming!” he pulls sokka into the cooler with him, and closes the door behind them. sokka gasps at the cold, and zuko focuses on exhales that warm the little air between them. he presses a hand against sokka’s mouth, and they crouch down, straining to hear what’s happening outside. muffled voices come through the door. </p><p> </p><p>“yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn.” </p><p> </p><p>“anybody interesting?”</p><p> </p><p>“nah, just the usual. some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners,” zuko can feel sokka stop breathing for a moment. “though i did hear there might be a pirate.”</p><p> </p><p>“war prisoners,” zuko whispers, “it could be your father.” </p><p> </p><p>sokka stares at the door, barely breathing. “i know.” </p><p> </p><p>“i -- what should we do?” zuko asks, exhaling flames through his nose. he can see sokka shivering uncontrollably. “are we going ahead with the plan, or are we waiting another night?”</p><p> </p><p>“i -- i don’t know!” sokka snaps, running a hand through his hair. “is it right for me to risk suki’s freedom -- all of our freedom, on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?” there’s a panicked edge to sokka’s voice, and zuko takes his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. </p><p> </p><p>“it’s your call, sokka.” he says. <em> this is why we’re here.  </em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>zuko crumples as they watch the cooler with chit sang and his buddies slowly float away, and sokka can barely catch him in time. <em> tui and la </em>, he’s lighter in his arms than sokka was expecting, and he cradles him against him for a moment before slinging one of zuko’s arms around his shoulder. suki helps to slowly drag him back to his cell. zuko looks small and frail on the pallet, his chest barely rising and falling with each breath. </p><p> </p><p>“sorry buddy.” sokka whispers as he wrangles zuko out of his prison shirt and pants, wrapping him in one of the blankets sokka had scrounged from around the prison while zuko was in the freezer. he hadn’t thought that they’d need them -- were supposed to be half way across the lake -- but he thanks past-sokka because the universe just loves to make things difficult. zuko moans as he lays him down gently back on the pallet.</p><p> </p><p>“i know -- hold on.” sokka can still feel the chill from the cooler in his bones, he can’t imagine how zuko feels. he strips quickly, praying that no one comes near them. grabbing the rest of the blankets, he piles them on zuko, creating a loose cocoon around the firebender before he lays down next to him. gran-gran’s voice echoes in his head as he pulls zuko to him, wrapping his arms around him so he can’t lash out at the sudden warmth. zuko feels like a block of ice in his arms, and sokka muffles curses in his shoulder. he wants to run his hands up and down zuko’s back, but he knows better until zuko starts shivering. </p><p> </p><p>sokka’s not sure how long it takes, but zuko starts to shiver uncontrollably and he lets out the breath he hadn’t noticed he was holding. </p><p> </p><p>“i know, i know.” he whispers, rearranging them so zuko’s head rests in the crook of sokka’s neck, and his hands are tucked between them. “this isn’t how i meant this to happen.”zuko drifts between being awake and sleeping, never staying awake for more than a few minutes, but sokka can't sleep. all he can do is is stare at the ceiling, running a hand over zuko's too-prominent ribs -- <em> please don’t let staying be a mistake. this is all his fault, and he can't lose anyone else. </em>he can still see his dad's face as he makes the decision to surrender because <em>his plan, it was all his fault, he can't -- he wasn't strong enough -- </em></p><p> </p><p>in the morning he'll go back to being strong; making sure zuko eats, making sure they get off the island and back to the temple -- but in the dark of zuko's cell, sokka feels so out of his depth. he cries, quiet sobs that leave him feeling empty and wrung out.  </p><p>he's <em>so tired. </em></p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>